Garden Help

[fuzzyred]

So, my dad recently helped me dig a new patch in my garden, and I planted a rose bush in there. It was a Valentine's gift from my mom and spent a couple months in the house. Part of it is green and healthy, but a lot of the stems are brown and dead looking. I don't know what to do to save it. Do I leave the dead parts there? Or do I trim them down the ground in hopes of making the healthy parts stronger? I don't do much gardening, and I'm sure sure how to keep roses healthy, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

Comments

[wyld_dandelyon]

I make a big pile around each rose plant, as high as I can get it to stay put (or as high as I have time for raking and gathering, anyway). The pile compresses over the winter, of course, but it helps protect the roots from the cold. Then in the spring I rake the leaves (or most of them, anyway) and put them into the compost, along with weeds which I've pulled and broken or cut.

If you have to spend money on those bags, you might find that some neighbors would be happy to have some of the bags emptied and returned for re-filling? Depends on the neighbors, of course. And most people are happy to have somebody else rake their lawns.

You don't want to be digging things into the ground too close to a rose plant, especially in the fall--you don't want to damage their root systems. But they're very happy to have already-composted leaves tossed on top of their roots.

[fuzzyred]

Thanks for the tips about rose bushes and leaves and composting! I singularly failed to do that this year, but it is definitely something I'm going to keep in mind for next fall. :)